Automan is an American superhero television series produced by Glen A. Larson. It ran for 12 episodes (although 13 were made) on ABC between 1983 and 1984. It self-consciously emulates the stylistic trappings of Walt Disney Pictures’ live-action film Tron in the context of a superhero television series. The series was later shown in reruns on the Sci-Fi Channel.
Automan (the «Auto Man») follows the adventures of a police officer and computer programmer named Walter Nebicher (Desi Arnaz Jr.), who has created an artificially intelligent crime-fighting program that generates a hologram (Chuck Wagner) able to get out of the computer. night world and fight crime.
While in the real world, Automan posed as a government agent by the name of «Otto J. Mann». This was a secret from everyone except Walter’s close associate Roxanne Caldwell (Heather McNair).
Nebicher could merge with Automan to become a single being, sharing consciousness and abilities, while retaining Automan’s invulnerability.
The cursor was his companion, a floating, shifting polyhedron that could «draw» and spawn physical objects as needed.
The most common forms that were adopted were a car (the Auto Car), an airplane, and a helicopter, all of which could defy the laws of physics.
The show also starred Robert Lansing as Lieutenant Jack Curtis and Gerald S. O’Loughlin as Detective Captain E. G. Boyd, both of whom were Walter’s superiors. They both believed that Automan was a friend of Walter’s from the FBI.
A technophobe who didn’t use computers, Captain Boyd often regarded Lieutenant Curtis as the kind of cop who was convinced he was the ideal for the police force, an ideal he believed Walter could never achieve.
Automan’s costume seemed to shine on screen due to its 3M-designed retroreflective coating. The fabric was made up of small reflective balls, and could reflect almost 100 percent of the light that was shined on it (the technique had been used several years earlier for Superman ‘s Kryptonian suits ).
The suit also had highly polished plates attached to it to provide the holographic appearance, all enhanced in post-production through chromakey effects.
Coach and Autochopper were the most common vehicles created for transportation. Each vehicle would appear or disappear as a sequence of wireframes drawn by Cursor, and they were black with strips of reflective tape attached to them.
The Autocar was a Lamborghini Countach LP400 that was capable of making 90-degree turns without losing control and overtaking by simply shooting, rather than turning.
However, human passengers who were not properly secured in their seats were often thrown inside with the momentum of the sudden change in position.
The Autochopper was a Bell Jetranger capable of landing anywhere. The show also featured a futuristic airplane and motorcycle, while other episodes featured a distinctive gun and guitar.
Another prominent feature of Automan was the ability to «wrap» himself around Walter as a means of protecting him.
They would appear as one person, but because Walter was inside Automan, he would inadvertently end up speaking in two voices.
However, Automan’s excessive use of electricity often meant that he would suffer from a power shortage during the day, so he was rarely active in sunlight.
Automan faced the tough Monday 8 p.m. ET timeslot, where it had to compete with the popular Scarecrow and Mrs. King , as well as TV’s Bloopers & Practical Jokes .
On top of that, ABC was having a disastrous season and consequently canceled almost their entire fall slate of shows. Due to low ratings (13.6) and expensive special effects, Automan was canceled after only twelve of its thirteen produced episodes had aired.
Cast
- Desi Arnaz Jr. – Walter Nebicher
- Chuck Wagner – Automan / Otto J. Mann
- Robert Lansing as Lieutenant Jack Curtis
- Gerald S. O’Loughlin – Police Captain E.G. Boyd
- Heather McNair by Roxanne Caldwell
Automan received a large number of product releases, mainly in the UK. An action figure, a Halloween costume, a Toy Coach, a Commodore 64 video game, and the pilot episode novel are among a few of the many releases.
In the US, the Ja-Ru company released a series of toys based on the show designed to be sold in supermarkets. Such items included toy stamp sets, money sets, binoculars, etc.
